


Bridge Over Troubled Waters

by messedupstargazer



Series: When Tears Are In Your Eyes [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Barry Allen Needs a Hug, Canon Compliant, Len Is A Good Person, M/M, Mentioned Deceased Character, Miscommunication, Post-Episode: s02e03 Family of Rogues, Suicidal Thoughts, Til That Episode, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-22 23:01:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9629030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/messedupstargazer/pseuds/messedupstargazer
Summary: Barry likes sitting on the edge of a bridge because his mom used to love the bridge and he does it when he misses her.  Len sees him, and panics that Barry is about to commit suicide and pulls him over.  Barry, who is not, is very confused about Captain Cold pulling the Flash to safety.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone. I am working on the next installment of Dating Your Arch-Nemesis, but I couldn't get this little one-shot out of my head. Enjoy!

The Central City Bridge was a sight to behold. It truly was, with the spires decorating the railings, the classic lamp lights, and the incredible view. However, no one in Central City actually called it the Central City Bridge, except maybe tourists and recent move-ins. Everyone called it Suicide Bridge. Hundreds of people have used it to die since before it was built, and everyone knows the story of the construction worker who jumped to his death two days before finishing. So there was usually heavy patrolling of cops, and that’s why Len almost never took that bridge unless he had to. He didn’t want to get recognized by a cop looking for jumpers, and, to be honest, he didn’t want to see anyone actually jump. Len had seen enough bodies to last a lifetime, and while he _would_ kill to protect his sister or Mick, a small part of him had been glad when the Flash made him promise not to kill anymore. It gave him a reason to shy away from the kind of jobs his father would take. His father never minded killing, in fact it gave him a sense of pride. And no matter what it took, Len was not going to end up like his father.

However, today’s job did take him past Suicide Bridge. There was a contact he used to fence some diamonds from his last heist, and while it wasn’t the biggest haul, it had been certainly worth the effort. Also, he got to see the Flash and honestly, that made his night. Mick and Lisa constantly told him he was obsessed, and while that may be true, he would never admit it to them. He’d never live it down. The Flash was his greatest nemesis, and ironically one of his friends, in a certain way. Barry would come visit him in prison, tried to talk him out of stealing for a living, and he was always honest about helping Len. Len was sure that if he called Barry and asked his help for picking out curtains or some other domestic act, Barry would be over right after work. It was a strange feeling, as for years he could only rely on himself, and then Mick, when he came into the picture. Len tried not to think about it, since his life was complicated enough as leader of the Rogues. So he drove, feeling the weight of the cash in his pockets, satisfied with the amount he had gotten from the fence. It was only about eleven a.m., so traffic was almost nonexistent. His bike didn’t have to weave through endless cars but could just drive in the lane as cars normally did. He wasn’t sure what caught his eye but something had him turn to face the right side of bridge. There he saw a lanky figure sitting on the edge of the railing. Ice flooded his veins and he flipped a rather illegal U but if any officer saw him, he would simply direct them to the person hanging off of Suicide Bridge. They'd be a lot more interested in that. He drove in the lane for a second until he could flip another U and pull up to the curb. He parked his bike and his heart nearly stopped. Sitting on the railing of the bridge, with his legs hanging over the side, head resting on the lamplight, was Barry Allen. Silently, not wanting to spook him and have him fall over the side, he carefully moved towards Barry, who didn’t notice him. Dried tear streaks ran down his face and his face showed no emotion but melancholy. Len reached out a hand and when his reach was long enough, he grabbed Barry around the waist, hauling him off the railing and bringing him close.

“What the hell?” Barry snapped, as if being brought back to this world. _“Snart?”_

At a bit of a loss to what to say, Len simply smacked kid upside the head.

“Ow!” Barry's hand went to his head. “What was that for?”

Cold anger made his voice harden. “What do you think, you stupid idiot? You're the one hanging off of Suicide Bridge!”

“I come here all the time!” Barry snapped.

Len's heart tightened and to solve it, he smacked Barry upside the head again. And again. And again. When he went to do it once more, Barry sped away from him, close to still hold conversation but out of arms’ length.

“Stop that!” Barry shouted. “What the hell has gotten into you?”

“Look, kid, I don’t know exactly what you've been through, but I have been here before.” Len gestured over the railing. “And let me tell you, that’s a permanent solution to any solvable problem.”

Barry stopped, confused. Len could see his mind racing a million miles an hour trying to figure something out. Realization hit, so he must have gotten it.

“You- you thought I was going to jump off the bridge?” Barry asked, sounding strangled.

“Why else to people come and sit on the railing of Suicide Bridge, Barry?” Len snapped.

Barry blushed and mumbled something.

“What?” Len asked.

“My mom liked this bridge.” Barry admitted, not meeting Len's eyes. “She used to say even though it had a bloody history, that didn’t mean it couldn’t be beautiful. Sometimes I wonder if she could see the future, considering how she ended up.”

Once Len had known Barry's identity, he’d looked him up. His mother’s murder by the hands of his father had been one of the first results, which had made Len sick. While Len's father wasn’t worth the ice it took to kill him, at least he hadn't killed his or Lisa’s mothers.

“So you come and sit over the edge of the railing, disregarding the fact that if you fall you _will_ die.” Len said.

“No, not with my powers.” Barry shook his head.

“Kid, I don’t know if you know this, but you absolutely cannot fly.” Len replied.

“Not like that.” Barry sighed. “If I were to fall, one, I would be quick enough to grab back on. Two, if I missed or something, then I could simply run down the bridge’s columns and then do a right angle turn and be absolutely fine. I do it all the time.”

“Fine.” Len answered, now upset with himself that he hadn't remembered the kid’s power would've protected him from that. Granted, he hadn't known it was the kid but he could've just gotten back on his bike and drove away once he saw it was the kid.

“It was really nice of you to stop, though.” Barry mused, frowning slightly. “It’s nice to know that someone stopped and made sure I was all right, even if it was Captain Cold.”

“Who said I was making sure you're all right?” Len asked before he could catch himself. “Maybe I was trying you out to see if your suicide would be believable.”

Barry cocked an eyebrow, unimpressed.

“Okay, maybe not my best line.” Len winced.

“You just don’t want to see the good in you.” Barry said.

“Don’t press your luck, kid.” Len threatened.

“Come on, you stopped on a freeway to make sure someone you weren't sure you knew from committing suicide.” Barry said. “Sounds pretty good to me.”

“It’s not good if it’s what any person would do, unless you're a psychopath.” Len snapped.

“I've been here a couple hours.” Barry said. “No one else stopped. No one but you.”

Len didn't have an answer to that. How could people not stop? Sure, not everyone could see Barry but those who did? Why didn’t they stop?

“Well that just means I have a little less faith in humanity now.” Len covered, trying to move on.

Barry smiled wryly. “I guess so.”

A thick silence fell over them. Len knew that the depression Barry had been feeling hadn't gone away. Surprisingly, Len didn’t want to leave the kid like this.

“Does the detective know where you are?” Len asked, hoping the kid would say yes and he could be called to pick the kid up.

“You kidding?” Barry snorted humorlessly. “You think the detective half of my fathers would let me sit on the edge of a bridge, dangling to my near death so much my own enemy had to check on me, because I miss my mom? Please.”

Len felt a pang of pity for him. While his father was nothing short of a bastard, he never really cared about the things Len and Lisa did because they missed their moms. It seemed to be one of his only human traits.

“Besides,” Barry sighed, oblivious to Len's inner musings, “he never knows what to say today since Iris’s mom… well it was much more complicated, so it’s different. Her mom just supposedly died in a car crash, instead of being murdered in front of her child by a time-traveling nemesis from the future.”

Len frowned at that. “Repeat that last part.”

Barry stared at him, kind of confused, until he realized something. “Oh you read the file. My father didn’t kill my mother, he tried to save her. Dr. Wells, at least, the man we thought was Dr. Wells killed her. He was trying to kill me.”

And with that, Len knew he couldn’t leave the poor kid alone if he wanted to. Lisa always teased him about being a sucker for tragic backstories because of their own.

“Explain.” Len demanded. “I thought Wells was the one whose particle accelerator blew up.”

“He was.” Barry said and launched into a convoluted explanation that Len only barely followed about someone named Eobard Thawne, time-travel and the giant black hole that appeared in the sky about eight months ago.

“I'm sorry.” Len said genuinely, his tone obviously surprising Barry.

“Thanks.” Barry mumbled awkwardly.

They stood in awkward silence for a little bit. Len was stuck with wanting to help the kid and wanting to get on his bike and never see the kid again.

“Look, thanks for… thanks for caring enough to stop.” Barry tried smiling. “But I should go. I promised I would go see my dad today. Since Wells left me his confession, we got him released. We’ll probably go see Mom today. He’s never seen her grave, as far as I know.”

Len nodded, thankful for the out. “Maybe next time just stand behind the railing.”

Barry laughed, and Len rather liked that sound on a day like today. It meant the kid wasn’t wallowing as much. Barry sped off and Len got back on his bike. He hoped Mick hadn't burned down the safe-house because he got bored waiting for Len.

\--------

When Barry and his father arrived at his mother's grave, he found flowers he hadn't sent resting on the ground. In the bouquet he found Adonis, Aster, Balm, and a plant he didn't recognize. His father did though, according to him it was a Ficoides, or in the common tongue, Ice Plant. Barry couldn't help dissolving into laughter, and once he calmed down he told both of his parents about the mystery with a good heart known as Leonard Snart.

**Author's Note:**

> Flower Meanings
> 
> Adonis- Sorrowful remembrance
> 
> Aster- I share your sentiments
> 
> Balm- Sympathy
> 
> Ficoides- Your looks freeze me


End file.
